Ghost outlasts the Night
by Ranowa Hikura
Summary: CO, some AO. After Alex's return in 'Ghost', Casey begins having doubts about Olivia. This only gets worse after she finds out about a secret meeting between the two in Alex's hotel room... 50th story!
1. Chapter 1

All right, the story behind this trilogy is extremely weird. It started off as three separate, unrelated fics. Then it turned into two different stories, although I was planning on giving one a prequel. But I'm lazy, so I didn't, and now it's all been rolled together into a trilogy. Oddly enough, the last two installments were actually written first, so I had to modify some events in them to work with this fic. But enough of that. THIS fic begins during 'Ghost'. Established CO, and...

I may or may not be able to update these next few days. My only internet will be from my 3DS, and it'll be kind of difficult to update, but I'll try! ...no promises, though...

**Prologue**

Yesterday, Olivia had gotten the news that her wife's brother had died. Yesterday, her wife had started crying and hadn't stopped, and it was breaking her heart. Only one thing could bring a smile to her wife's face, and Olivia intended to make her happy, no matter how hard it was."Hey," Olivia said softly as she slipped out of their bedroom, "Sara, come over here."

The little girl looked up from where she had been playing in the kitchen and walked over to Olivia. "Mommy?" she asked, peaking around the detective to look into her parents' bedroom, where her other mother was still lying on her back, sniffling slightly as tears fell silently down her cheeks. "Mom's still sad, isn't she?"

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, she is. But you know what always cheers her up? Telling your favorite story about how we got together and got you. Do me a favor and ask her to tell it; it always make her smile."

At the prospect of hearing her favorite story, Sara nodded eagerly and bounced into the room, jumping up onto the bed and lying down next to her mother. "Mom?" she asked as the woman wrapped an arm around her tiny shoulders.

"Sara, I'm sorry… if you need something, can you please ask Mommy? I'm not really-"

"Mom, how did you and Mommy meet?" Sara interrupted, prompting a small laugh from the body next to her.

Running a hand through Sara's light brown curls, her mother nodded and smiled slightly to herself. "Your mother put you up to this, didn't she?" Sara nodded mutely, and the woman sighed and nodded. "Of course she did. I'm sure she's right outside the door waiting to see what'll happen. Thanks, Olivia!" she called, and the detective stepped out from her hiding place behind the door and shrugged.

"Anytime."

Rolling her eyes and smiling, the woman continued playing with Sara's hair. "Well, I can't disappoint you, Sara, you know that. So, ten years ago…"


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the review! Sorry... the hotel didn't have wifi. I thought it would but it turned that that was just a lie.

**Chapter 1**

Casey smiled softly to herself as she walked towards the precinct, fingering the slip of paper in her pocket. While waiting for the jury to come back on her most recent case, she had scrawled _Casey Benson Casey Benson Casey Benson _on it over and over again. Like a teenager with a crush, tacking her lover's last name onto hers just to see what it looked like.

She and Olivia had been dating for two months now. The ghost of Alex Cabot still haunted every place they went, with Casey being afraid that Olivia had had feelings for Alex and still having trouble believing she wasn't just the _replacement _anymore- but they were working on it. Slowly, she was beginning to believe that maybe, the woman before her wouldn't stop her from having happiness with Olivia.

She sighed, then, remembering that night where she had stopped by Olivia's place to pick her up for dinner.

_Several weeks previously_

_"Olivia!" Casey called as she pounded on the detective's door again. "Liv, it's Casey! Are you even here?" She hesitated, leaning up against the door to try and listen for any signs that Olivia was still here, that she hadn't forgotten all about their date. She thought she heard the sounds of someone crying...? "Olivia!" she shouted, trying not to get too nervous. "OLIVIA! If you don't answer this door right now, I am going to knock it down!"_

_There was no reply. Truly scared now, Casey briefly thought over her options- she could just leave, she could ask the super to open it, or she could force her way in. If Olivia was actually hurt and needed help, she didn't have time to waste trying to find the super. She bit her lip, then slammed her shoulder into the door. The door gave way a little, but remained shut, and Casey bounced back. Gritting her teeth from the pain in her shoulder, Casey decided to go for another idea- picking the lock. She pulled the paperclip off the stack of files she had been planning on giving to Olivia and fiddled with the lock. It took her a bit over thirty seconds, but at least she managed it._

_Sighing in relief, Casey burst through the door, to find Olivia siting on the couch, curled up into a ball, already wearing what was probably an expensive dress in preparation for their date. The detective was staring at her in shock, her eyes wide, her cheeks stained with tears. Olivia got to her feet, clutching something close to herself and demanded, "What the hell- how do you get in here?"_

_"I picked the lock," she said with a shrug, walking closer to her. "Liv… what's wrong?"_

_Shaking her head, Olivia ran a hand through her hair and shook her head to clear it, setting whatever she was grasping so tightly on the couch. Clearing her throat, Olivia smiled slightly at her and said, "Nothing. Nothing, Casey. Sorry I kept you waiting. Are you ready to-"_

_"Olivia, stop it. I'm not going to just take you out and ignore what I just saw here. Tell me what's wrong," she said, walking closer to the couch and reaching for the object._

_"No, stop-" Olivia began, but Casey beat her to it. _

_It was a picture of Alex Cabot._

_Jealously accosted her like a physical blow and she swallowed back a furious exclamation, setting the picture down again. Keep an open mind, Casey, keep an open mind, she told herself as she turned back around to face Olivia, who was shifting her weight nervously and biting her lip. "Olivia?" she asked, proud of how steady her voice was. "What's wrong?"_

_"Casey… it's nothing. Please let it go."_

_Casey threw her hands in frustration and shook her head. "Olivia, you know I can't do that- I can never just 'let it go' when it concerns her and this squad. Her and you. I wish I could, but I can't."_

_"Are you jealous, Casey? Is that it?" Olivia asked sharply, shaking her head and turning away. "Are you jealous of Alex?"_

_"No. I'm not jealous of a dead woman; I'm worried. I'm worried I'm going to lose you because you still want someone else; someone you can't have…" Casey knew what she was really asking; hell, they both knew it. But Olivia wasn't saying anything; she was hardly even looking at her. Sighing, Casey forced herself to say it out loud. "Olivia, I understand if you miss her. She was your friend, that's not a problem- and it's not a problem if you had a relationship with her, either… just don't lie to me about it."_

_"I'm not lying, Casey! I told you the truth when I said I had never been in a relationship with her!" Olivia exclaimed quickly, still avoiding her gaze. Casey narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but she didn't believe Olivia was lying about this… but she was lying about something._

_"Olivia, tell me what you're hiding. If you didn't have a relationship with Alex, then why are you sitting here crying over a picture over her? What aren't you telling me?"_

_The detective just sighed and covered her eyes with a hand. "Casey, stop. You don't know how hard this is."_

_"Then tell me," Casey said hesitantly, taking a slow step forward and resting a hand on her arm. "Trust me."_

_Olivia laughed bitterly and moved away from her. "Case… Alex isn't… Alex is-" Casey could see that Olivia was teetering on the edge of telling something big, and she didn't want to say anything to talk her out of it. Unfortunately for her, Olivia's decision was already made. "This is the anniversary of her dea- of the day she was shot," she said softly, her voice low, defeated._

_And Casey could see that this wasn't had Olivia so upset… but then, what else could it be? She had known that the anniversary was coming up, she just hadn't known the exact date. And it wasn't like Casey hadn't expected Olivia to react something like this- and besides, Alex was dead now. Olivia had been crying over a picture of Alex, it was the anniversary of her death… maybe she was reading too much into this. _

_"Oh, Liv… I'm so sorry." She reached out slowly and rested a hand on her arm. "Is there anything I can do?"_

_Olivia shook her head, swallowed the rest of her tears, and smiled. "No. No, but thanks. Listen, I know we already made the reservation and everything, but… can we please postpone for a couple days?" _

_"Yeah. Yeah, of course." Casey smiled back and turned to leave, then hesitated. "You sure you don't want me to stay for a few minutes?"_

_Olivia's hand was already on the phone. "No, I… I was actually going to call Elliot."_

_More jealously. Well, not jealously, per se… more like anger… no… disappointment. Yes, that was it. Disappointment that Olivia would rather call Elliot for comfort than her- but then again, perhaps it was for the best. After all, Elliot had known Alex- Casey hadn't. And Elliot and Olivia had been friends for years... and he had been there with her when Alex was shot. Surely Elliot would be able to do a good job comforting her._

_"All right. I'll see you tomorrow," Casey said softly, squeezed her arm, then turned to leave._

Casey smiled again as she pulled herself out of the memory. Things hadn't changed much since that night; they both wanted to take things slowly. They hadn't even had their first kiss yet, but they were both so wrapped up in work and Casey was still uncertain about her place next to the Great Alexandra Cabot. But things were getting better.

Shaking her head happily, Casey approached the squad room, glad to be bringing news of a guilty verdict... and especially glad that she was giving it to Olivia.

_Several minutes previously_

"Oh my god."

Olivia stared at the woman standing before her in the squad room, unable to believe it was really her.

Alexandra Cabot smiled down at her and the others. Elliot was just as shocked as Olivia, the others were beyond speechless. No one paid any attention to the two feds standing close to her, and only Elliot and Olivia could have guessed their purpose, anyways.

Alex had rehearsed this moment in her head many times, and finally decided on what she wanted to do first, when she finally got back to New York. Even though she knew this was only temporary, she wasn't going to allow herself to leave again without ever knowing what could of been. "Hey, you guys," she said timidly, smiling at them all. Fin, Munch, and Cragen just stared her, motionless, unable to speak, and Elliot and Olivia weren't much better. "I'm not dead. I was shot, not killed. They put me in Witness Protection to protect me, and... I... well, I'm not back for good. Just to testify against Liam Conners. But I _am _alive."

The others were still processing the news that she was alive, but Elliot and Olivia were thrilled. "Welcome home, Alex… even if it's not permanent _yet_." Elliot said as he got to his feet. Olivia followed suit.

"We've all missed you," she said softly as she hugged Alex. "God, we've all missed you so much."

"And I've missed you."

"Wait!" Munch gasped, getting to his feet as well and stumbling over to them. "You two… you knew about this? You knew that Alex was alive?"

Elliot and Olivia looked at each uncomfortably before nodding. "John," Alex began, "listen, they couldn't of told you. You know how dangerous it was. And Velez has people everywhere; what if he had been listening and found out? Don't blame them, at least. It's my fault for telling them… I knew how hard it would be to keep it secret from the rest of the squad. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Alex- at least you had someone back home who was waiting for you," Olivia said with a small smile, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Welcome home."

While the feds discussed protecting Alex with Cragen now that she was back- even if temporarily- in New York while Munch and Fin gathered around their old friend, their emotions like those of a small kid on Christmas morning. They couldn't believe Alex was alive and that they could see and talk to her again. Alex, beyond happy to be back with her friends in New York, lingered for as long as she could, but naturally, all good things must come to an end.

Finally, when they couldn't risk staying at the squad room any longer, one of the federal agents came forward and said, "Ms. Cabot, we really do have to take you to the safe house. I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous for us to stay here much longer."

Alex grimaced and sighed, looking away. "Of course, just give me one more minute."

"Ms. Cabot-"

"One more minute!" she demanded icily, glaring at him before approaching Olivia. "Can everyone give us a minute alone?" she asked softy, watching as surprise flashed across the brunette's face before she controlled her expression. Everyone nodded, scattering about the squad room so as to leave them alone- they probably thought Alex just wanted a second with her best friend before she left for the safe house. Well, they were wrong.

_This is what you want, Alex, _she reminded herself. _This is what you've dreamed of for over a year… and if she says no, you know you get to leave soon and she'll probably never even see you again. _And it was that fact that gave her the courage to begin talking. "Olivia, ever since I went into witness protection, I've been thinking about everyone back here, but most of all, you. Possibly the worst part of everything was the fact that you weren't with me. I don't know when I realized that I loved you, but I do. I love you, Olivia. I'm not back permanently yet, but I don't want to not say it now, and then never get the chance to."

Casey's POV

Casey stared in absolute shock as she entered the squad room and saw Alexandra Cabot standing in the middle of the room. She was rendered speechless, but Alex certainly wasn't. "Olivia, I love you... The entire time I was in witness protection, I have dreamed about doing this." She pulled Olivia close and pressed a passionate kiss against her lips.

In the middle of Casey's amazement at the ghost back from the dead, in the middle of all that shock... betrayal. Hurt. She stood motionless, watching as Olivia did not back away from the kiss, did not struggle against it. Finally, she looked up, and her eyes met with Casey's. Immediately, Olivia jumped back, horror on her face. "Casey!" she gasped, and Alex turned around to see the ADA standing frozen in the doorway. "Casey, I-"

"She wasn't your girlfriend?" Casey asked coldly in the absolute silence of the squad room. "Really? The hell she wasn't. That's exactly what it looks like to me." Her voice cracked on the last world and she whirled around, storming away from the squad room.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for reviewing!

**Chapter 2**

"Casey!" Olivia shouted after her girlfriend, but it was too late, she was gone.

Alex stared after her in confusion, then turned to Olivia and asked, "Who the hell was that?"

Olivia bit back her anger- there was no way Alex could of known. "That was Casey- my girlfriend, Alex."

Alex's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth in shock. "What... girlfriend? Olivia, I'm so-"

"I'm sorry, Alex, but I have to go," she said quickly before dashing out of the squad room, calling, "Casey!" again. It was no use. Casey was gone.

* * *

><p>Casey cleared her throat when someone knocked on her locked office door. "Who is it?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.<p>

"Olivia- please, Case, let me in!"

Casey had made up her mind not to open her door to Olivia already, but the sound of her nickname, something her _friends_ called her, was too much. She got sharply to her feet and stormed over to the door, unlocking it and tossing it open to glare coldly at her now _ex_-girlfriend. "You don't call me that ever again," she snapped, her hands clenched into fists.

Olivia blinked in surprise and flinched back. "I'm sorry?"

"Case. My friends call me that. You are just my colleague, _detective_. Nothing more."

"Casey, it wasn't what it looked like-"

"You know, Olivia, it's not like if I had known about you and Alex before-hand, I never would of gotten into a relationship with you. That wasn't a deal-breaker. But no, you lied to me about it, and _that_ is."

Casey slammed the door in Olivia's face again, leaving the distraught detective outside.

"Case," she heard Olivia's voice choke out on the other side, "I'm sorry, _Casey_, I... please, let me in, let me explain..."

Casey swallowed, doing her best not to give into Olivia as she hurried back over to her desk. Work was a distraction. If she started to work then she would just forget Olivia was there.

Well, Olivia had some time- and she knew that if she didn't get through to the ADA now, Casey would probably never trust her again. And if Casey was _just_ her girlfriend, then Olivia wouldn't be happy about it, but perhaps she could just let it go… but Casey was also her colleague. They worked together every day, and one of their greatest concerns had been that if things didn't work out, it would be difficult to work together. It would be worse if they didn't also share the memories of being a couple but also couldn't trust one another. Well… she had all night. "Casey, I'm not going to go away! You have to come outside sometime!"

Casey just shook her head, trying to focus on the papers in front of her that were quickly becoming blurry, but it wasn't working. As her girlfriend's- no the _detective's_ pleas continued, Casey scrambled frantically inside her briefcase for her Ipod. When she found it, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief and jabbed the headphones in her ears, turning up the volume as loud as she could. She didn't have court today, so she wouldn't have to leave her office. She would wait until Olivia had left and then escape home.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed in her office, but it was dark outside when she finally got to her feet, turning the light off and buttoning her coat. She would hurry home, lock the door, and drown her sorrows in alcohol.

Well, that was her foolproof plan, which shattered into pieces when she opened her office door and saw Olivia sitting down across from it. With a shocked gasp, she immediately slammed the door shut again and jumped back, eyes wide with shock. "Casey!" she heard the detective cry through the door, "Casey, please, just let me talk to you!"

Struggling to keep herself in control, Casey contemplated her choices for a moment before finally curling up on the couch in her office, kicking off her high heels and using her coat as a blanket. She wasn't going to let Olivia win. She would stay here all night if she had to.

Which is what she did. With her music up high blast, she wasn't able to hear Olivia, whether she was there or not, so she resigned herself to staying here until tomorrow morning.

Casey didn't like doing this. She stood up for herself; she wasn't someone who hid whenever she was hurt and stayed quiet. And if Olivia had just cheated on her, then she would already be out in that hallway giving the detective a piece of her mind.

But with _Alex._ Casey couldn't stand the fact that Olivia had lied to her about loving Alex, but now that everything was out in the light now… she just wanted to hide back here from the Great Ice Princess Alex Cabot. Yes, part of her wanted to confront Alex and the detectives both, to scream at them that just because her name wasn't Alex didn't mean she wasn't a competent attorney and that she wasn't trying her best to prosecute their cases and make at least _some_ progress with those detectives, to try and at least force one small hole in the carcass of ice that had surrounded that tight-knit unit after Alex's death… or since she'd been sent away to WP.

But only a small part of her wanted that. The rest of her never wanted to see Alex Cabot again. While none of this was Alex's fault, it was still because of her existence that, no matter what she did with these people, Casey always felt as if they were silently comparing her to Alex. To who should of been there; to who would be doing it right- because whatever Casey did, it couldn't possibly be as good as what Alex would do in her position.

So she stayed hidden in her office… hiding from Alex and Olivia and the rest of the world.

The morning sun streaming through the window woke Casey up. She groaned as last night's events rushed back to her and took a deep, shuddering breath, refusing to let herself cry again. One glance at her watch told her she needed to get moving; she had arraignment in half an hour. With a sigh, she stood up, stretching her stiff, sore body before heading over to the gym bag in the corner of her office, containing a spare suit for whenever she worked all night.

She changed into it, ignoring the general ache all over her body from sleeping on the couch, and grabbed her briefcase, determined to walk out of her with as much dignity as possible. She walked towards the door with a smirk; there was no way Olivia- _no, Detective Benson_, she corrected herself, had stayed all night. Nevertheless, she was slightly nervous as she poked her head outside the door, afraid that she would have to face the detective- but, thank god, she was gone.

Sighing in relief, Casey headed around the corner to the elevator, a small, triumphant smile playing on her lips when she froze in place.

Olivia was waiting for her by the elevator, sitting on the floor, wearing the same clothes from yesterday. Casey gasped, the immediately turned on her heel and headed in the opposite direction. She heard the detective call after her and sped up, ducking her head and hoping Olivia- no, Detective Benson- didn't follow her.

No such luck. The moment she had made it back to her office Olivia grabbed her wrist and exclaimed, "_Casey!_ Please, can we just talk for one god damn second!"

Casey took a deep breath, then whirled to face the detective and ripped her hand out of her grip. "Don't you fuckin touch me," she growled, "and don't worry, you won't have to wait for me to turn my back so you and your legal goddess Ice Queen Cabot can continue making love behind it, you can do it right out in the open. You are not my girlfriend, Detective, now stop stalking me and let me go!"

Olivia winced, then started again, "Casey, _please_, just let me-"

"_No!_" Casey shouted before trying to turn and stalk off, but Olivia grabbed her hand again. "Get the hell off me!" she shouted, which was starting to attract the attention of the other ADAs.

"Casey, stop! You don't even know what happened; let me explain first!"

"I saw everything I needed to know what was really going on!" Casey shouted, but Olivia wasn't deterred.

"Give me a chance to actually explain what happened! Then you can be mad all you want!"

Casey hesitated and was contemplating simply refusing Olivia and pushing past her- but perhaps she could give the detective a minute to actually explain what had happened. Then Olivia couldn't claim later that this was all her fault for not listening to stories about Alex and Olivia being in love that she hadn't told Casey for some worthless and invalid reason. "Fine. Talk."

The detective sighed in relief before beginning. "Casey, you didn't hear everything she said. I was telling the truth about Alex and I; we never had a relationship- I didn't even know she wanted one until yesterday. You walked in just as she was telling me she loved me before she kissed me."

Olivia watched worriedly as Casey's eyes widened in shock and the ADA stepped back, stunned. She opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to speak before finally saying hoarsely, "Oh. I… I didn't know that. I'm sorry. I mean, it was Alex- I just assumed… I suppose all the rumors about you two got to me. I'm sorry."

Olivia sagged slightly and nodded. "It's fine. Misunderstanding."

The two stood there for a moment before Casey realized they were still surrounded by a circle of very interested ADAs. Sighing, she tentatively grabbed Olivia's hand and said, "Come on. Let's talk about this in the elevator."

Once they were away from all the other ADAs, Casey flicked the switch that shut off the elevator and turned to smile uncertainly at her. "Olivia, I'm very sorry for overreacting. It's just… all the rumors about Alex got to my head."

"I can't blame you for that," she said, leaning back against the wall and smiling slightly at her. "Listen, Case… I'm sorry, but while the trial is going on, Alex is going to need a protection detail, and it's our squad that has that responsibility. I want you to know that it has nothing to do with you- it's the job."

Casey swallowed back her immediate jealous response- Olivia was right. Just because Olivia had to stick close to Alex as a security detail didn't mean Olivia had feelings for her. "Liv, I get it. I don't like it, but I do. Just… don't forget about me, you know- don't spend all your time with Alex."

Olivia chuckled, her smile widening. "Oh, I won't."

_Don't be deterred by this ending- there's a lot of drama coming. _


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for reviewing! In celebration that fanfiction is finally up and running again after about twelve hours of being on the fritz- at least for me, I give you...

**Chapter 3**

"So?" Elliot asked as he walked over to Olivia's desk. "You straighten things out with Casey?"

She nodded slightly. "Yeah, we're on good terms again… but that doesn't fix everything."

Elliot nodded in agreement. "Alex."

Olivia nodded unhappily. "Yeah, I know... I feel terrible about this whole thing. No one comes out happy. Casey finds out we've both been lying to her ever since the beginning, Alex is gonna feel like she made a fool out of herself and she'll probably never speak to me again, and that's _if_ she gets to come back to New York..."

They both sighed at that, knowing how unlikely it was that Alex would get to return home permanently. Velez was nicknamed the Ghost for a reason. It had been over a year, and this was as god damn close as they'd gotten to bringing her home, and it wasn't close at all.

After a sad moment of silence passed between them, Elliot pulled Olivia to her feet and headed towards the door. "Come on. You go talk to Alex. "

"I can't; not tonight. Casey and I have a date-"

"Liv, don't do that to Alex. She deserves to know what's going on. Don't worry, I'll call Casey and explain the situation."

Olivia bit her lip hesitantly, shaking her head. "I don't know, El, I don't feel too good about that. She's already unhappy about this; I don't want to put off a date with her to go talk to Alex- but you're right. Alex is still my friend; I don't want to make her wait when nothing good will come of it. Thanks for calling Casey for me, El, I promise I'll make it up to you."

"You better… she's not going to be happy."

* * *

><p>"Olivia?" Alex asked in confusion when she saw the detective standing at the doorway of her hotel room. Munch moved aside so she could come in, knowing that the two women needed to talk but not really wanting to be present for it.<p>

"Munch, go on," Olivia said, nodding him out the door. "I'll take the night shift."

He smiled at his thanks at her before leaving, shutting the door behind him. There was an awkward silence, then Alex said quickly, "Look, I didn't expect you to have not dated anyone ever since I... what I mean to say is, if you want to... we still can... I just don't want to have any regrets when I go back into witness protection."

Olivia sighed, staring at her feet guiltily. She didn't want to say this. "Alex, I... I don't know how to tell you this, but..."

"But you don't have feelings for me," Alex finished, swallowing nervously. "It's okay. I get it. It's fine," she said forcefully, looking away and crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

"Alex- come on, Lex, it's not that I don't like you, but as a friend, not... not something more... I'm sorry." _This isn't helping… _Alex just shrugged dejectably and turned away, focusing her gaze on a small stain on a wall, anything rather than Olivia, her current source of embarrassment. Finally, Olivia said, "Look, Alex, even if I _did_ have feelings for you, it still wouldn't be right. Three days of love and then we leave each other forever? And I have Casey already, and you, come on, you're telling me someone like you doesn't have someone waiting for you back in Wisconsin?"

Alex smirked and looked back at her. "Yeah," she said coldly. "Yeah, I do. At night, he says my name. Emily."

Olivia sighed sadly, wishing, once again, she could of forced Alex to accept their protection last year, so it wouldn't have come to this. "It's hard to be someone that you're not," she said softly.

Shaking her head and forcing a hard smile on her lips as a cold glint came in her eye, Alex changed the subject. "So. Casey, huh? What's she like?"

Olivia smiled slightly at Alex, trying to be sympathetic. "We don't have to talk about Casey if you don't want to, Lex."

Alex hesitated, then nodded in relief. "Okay. Just tell me one thing- it's not Casey _Novak_, is it? Please tell me it's not."

With a frown, Olivia scooted back from Alex and asked, "So what if I am dating Casey Novak? How do you know her?"

Alex gasped, then shot to her feet and started pacing. "Oh, come _on_, Olivia! Casey _Novak_! That headstrong bitch from white collar who can't prosecute even if the case is handed to her on a silver platter? The girl who can't even play nice to save her own life? Come on, you deserve so much better than her!"

"Wha... what the- what are you talking about, Alex?" Olivia demanded, getting to her feet as well. "How do you even know her?"

Alex scoffed as she continued pacing. "I met her once. It was right before I got transferred to SVU. The bitch thought that just because my parents were rich I had bought my way into my position as senior ADA and was bold enough to say it to my face!" Olivia was unable to hold back a small smile at that- it certainly sounded like Casey. "And about a month after that, we worked a case together- worst case I ever tried. That little kid doesn't even deserve to lick your boots, Liv! How the hell would you even run into scum like her anyway?"

Olivia blinked in shock- the only people she had ever heard Alex describe with such hate and venom in her voice were the sick bastards she used to prosecute. Shaking her head, she snapped, "Don't talk about her like that! You don't even know her, for god's sakes! Once you get to know her, Casey is one of the kindest people you could ever meet, and I don't know what she was like back then, but she's a damn good lawyer now! SVU convictions are up 8% and it's only been a year since she started here!"

Alex froze, then slowly turned to face Olivia, eyes wide in horror. "Wha... what did you say? Since she... since she started... don't tell me she _replaced_ me and that's who..."

Olivia hesitated before nodding firmly as she said, "You know what, Alex? Yeah. Yeah, that's who I'm dating. But she's not your replacement, and hasn't been for a while. She's created a whole other role for herself. I will admit, when she first came to SVU, all we could see was someone who wasn't _you_, but not anymore, Alex. She's her own person, and we care about her as much as we cared about you, so _don't_ talk about her like she's just your replacement."

Alex was not to be dissuaded. "Liv, please, you deserve so much better than her! I'm not saying you have to love me either or even consider me, but please just listen to me-"

"I'm not going to listen to you attack my girlfriend!" Olivia shouted, glaring at her furiously as she got to her feet. Alex did the same, backing up a few steps and starting to shout right back.

"I'm not going to just give you up without a fight!"

"You never _had_ me to begin with, Alex-"

"_Do you love her?_"

Olivia glared at her, her hands balled into fists. "Alex, we have been seeing each other for two months. That's not enough time to know if we love each other. Not enough time to know if we have a future together. But-"

"Come on, why would you give up something certain with me for something completely unknown with that- that- that _woman!_" she exclaimed, though Alex clearly had another word in mind.

Olivia had had enough. "First of all, something certain with you? Something _certain_ with you? You don't even know when you'll be able to come home, Alex! And when you do, who knows if you will have already gotten engaged or married or something- you know, with that man that calls you Emily at night! And I _don't_ want something more than friendship with you, Alex! I'm sorry, really, I am, and I don't want to hurt you, but I'm not going to throw away Casey like she's a piece of trash and have sex with you until the cows come home just to make you feel better!"

"Olivia-"

"No, Alex, I'm not having it. We can still be friends, but not if you try and insult my girlfriend. All right? And I'm here as your security detail. That's it. Nothing else is going to happen and I don't want you to expect it to. Good night, Alex." Olivia sat firmly down on the couch and crossed her arms, not responding to any of Alex's attempts to talk to her no matter how much she wanted to until Alex finally just slumped down against the couch.

"Olivia, I... I'm so sorry. It's just that I've had this idea in my head about what it would be like to come home... I never thought it would be this hard. I knew how unlikely it was, but I always pictured that you would say you loved me too. I would never have asked you to leave everything here and come back with me into witness protection, but I thought that I could at least know if... if you felt the same way. I'm sorry. I just..."

Olivia softened and slid down off the couch to sit next to her. "Alex, it's okay. I have no way of knowing how hard this past year has been for you. I know you've probably missed us and envisioned your homecoming to be better than this... Alex, we can still be friends. Just not _more_ than friends." Alex grimaced and just looked away. "Look, I'm sorry," Olivia said softly. "I know it's not what you want. But it's the most I can offer... come on, Alex. Friends?" She held out her hand for Alex to shake- she didn't want to lose Alex's friendship, but if it was going to turn into a question between her and Casey...

Alex stared at her for a moment, then took her hand and shook it. "Friends," she agreed.

* * *

><p>"Casey!" Elliot exclaimed once he'd spotted her in the restaurant. "Hey, Casey!"<p>

The ADA looked up from her watch to stare at him in confusion. "Elliot? What are you doing here? Olivia and I are supposed to be…" she trailed off when she saw his apologetic expression.

He sighed. "Sorry, Case. Olivia sent me to tell you that she can't make it; she has to work tonight."

Casey shook her head and slumped back in her seat. "Well, that's just wonderful. And a call would of sufficed."

Shrugging, he sat down across from her and leaned back. "I don't think Liv would of liked it if I'd just called you. After sitting here twenty minutes by yourself, just getting up and walking out? Would've looked like you'd been stood up, so she sent me."

"Really? Well, I suppose that's sweet," Casey said as she stood up, putting on her coat. Elliot didn't mention that Olivia had actually told him to just call her instead of going by the restaurant as he mimicked her movements. "So, what's Liv doing?"

He grimaced. _You just have to ask the wrong questions, don't you?_ "Well, tonight.. don't get too mad at her, Casey, but she's spending the night with Alex as her security detail."

Casey's green eyes widened and she visibly paled before regaining her composure. "Oh," she said shortly, speeding up as she walked towards the exit.

Elliot hurried after her. "Case, wait!" he called. "Alex really does need a security detail, at least until she goes back into WP- and it's the squads job to give it to her."

Casey stopped in her tracks, turning around to look at him in shock. "I- wait, what? Wait... Alex isn't here to stay? I thought-"

"She's back to testify against Liam Conners. That's it." He watched as Casey visibly slumped with relief, leaning forward and running her hands through her hair.

"That's… that's different," she said slowly, then smiled. "I… well, I suppose it is bad for Alex, but… I can't deny that I wasn't a little jealous of her. And now I have my job security back, and I don't have to worry as much about might happen if Alex and Olivia are alone, and-"

"Job security? Casey, what are you talking about?"

Casey gave a despondent sigh as she started walking again, gesturing for Elliot to follow. "She was your ADA for three years… I've only been here for one. I know that if, given the choice, you would rather be working with her, and the DA would probably give her my position here and transfer me the back to white collar or something."

Elliot sighed. "Casey, I can't speak for the DA, and I know we were pretty rough with you when you first got transferred, "but we wouldn't have asked you to transfer, and I know Alex. Once she saw how good of a prosecutor you are and how much you mean to Olivia- and the rest of us- she wouldn't take your job, either. The DA would probably hire her back, yes, but not for this squad.. Even if we would rather have her than you- which is not true, by the way- we still wouldn't ask you to leave."

Casey looked up, a spark of hope in her eyes as she gave him a small smile. "Well, whether or not I believe you, at least you cared enough to say it."

"And, believe me, Casey. Olivia and I... it's not that we couldn't trust you. We didn't tell anyone about this. We couldn't tell anyone that Alex was alive; that was the only thing stopping her from being killed. If we had- oh no." Casey had whirled on him, eyes wide with shock and horror, looking like she'd just been punched in the gut.

"What did you just say?" she hissed coldly, deadly quiet. Elliot backed up a step, wishing he had had the brains to keep his mouth shut. "Did you just say," she continued, her voice growing louder with each word, "that you knew Alex Cabot was alive and never told me? Are you telling me that you were just going to let me make a fool out of myself in court when I said she was dead? That you didn't trust me enough to ever-"

"Casey, it has nothing to do with trust! Olivia and I never told Munch, Fin, Cragen, anybody! We couldn't risk it! If anybody had found out-"

"So, let me get this straight- Olivia _knew_ she was alive and never told me? And what the hell did you think I would do, go running to the Columbians and tell them where she was for a quick buck? Elliot-"

"Casey, we that wasn't what we were worried about-"

"Yeah, whatever," Casey muttered under her breath as she stalked out of the bar. "Don't follow me."


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the review! Next chapter is where the real drama's at. Until then, though...

**Chapter 4**

It was almost five hours after Casey had disappeared from the restaurant that Elliot decided to call her, at the urgings of Munch and Fin. Though they weren't too happy with him either, for that matter. She answered the phone with a tentative, "Hey, Elliot."

He frowned, surprised that he was even taking his calls. "Hey, Casey. I'm just calling because... well, Munch and Fin told me it was a good idea, and I wanted to-"

"Yeah, I know," she said tiredly. "I know, Elliot... look, I'm sorry I overreacted. I was just mad that Olivia hadn't told me. I know you guys couldn't. That it saved her life... I'm sorry."

Elliot blinked, glad that she had forgiven him this quickly though a little suspicious as to her motives. "Um, that's... uh, thanks, Casey."

"Mmm, sure." Casey sighed dismissively, her voice still sad, then asked quickly, "Hey, if you get a call from Liv, tell her to call me back. I called her a few times but she ignored my calls, so…"

"Yeah, sure, I'll tell her. But Casey, listen, it wasn't-"

She hung up.

* * *

><p>Casey waited by her phone, awake for most of the night. But Olivia never called.<p>

She tapped her foot anxiously and kept glancing at her watch, hoping she would, but her phone never rang. Elliot had called her. Elliot had made sure she was all right, and they weren't even dating. She had left five voicemails. Why wasn't she calling back?

After one hour, Casey thought that perhaps she had just misplaced her cell phone. That was all. After two, maybe Olivia hadn't realized her phone was ringing. After three, maybe Olivia's phone had died and she hadn't charged it yet. And every time Olivia ignored her calls rather than just letting it ring, Olivia must think it was Elliot or somebody else- not her.

She came up with excuse after excuse for why Olivia hadn't called her back yet, but by the time it had been seven hours, Casey no longer wondered why she wasn't answering her phone. It all made sense now. First, she hadn't bothered to ever mention Alex was alive. Then, when Alex kisses her, she doesn't pull back, doesn't struggle, just stands there and lets her. Then she spends the night with Alex- without telling her girlfriend- and won't return any of her calls.

With a groan, Casey shut off the lights and stormed back to her bedroom, battling feelings of incompetency all over again. Olivia was going to Alex. Olivia was leaving her... for Alex. Even though Alex wasn't staying, even though she'd be gone in just a few days, she would rather have a few days with Alex then the possibility of a lifetime with her.

"Who would blame her?" Casey muttered to herself as she got a bottle of sleeping pills out of the bathroom and took as many as she could without killing herself. She did not want to lie in bed, waiting to fall asleep, because it would end up causing her to wait until Olivia called. And she wasn't going to call. She was with Alex now.

The sleeping pills she had taken sent her into a dreamworld quickly, but not before she began to cry. She had trusted Olivia before she had seen what had happened with Alex in the squad room, and after Elliot had talked to her, she had thought that she had been wrong to mistrust Olivia. But now her supposed loving girlfriend had just up and left her, without even bothering to call her or answer her own messages. Hadn't even bothered to tell her, 'Oh, Casey, I'm breaking up with you for a three day fling with an old friend who I lied when I said I didn't love, so don't wait up!'

The sleeping pills kept her asleep the entire night, but when her alarm clock woke her up the next morning, her pillow was wet with tears. Casey blushed, then turned it over so no one could see- why the hell would she care, there was no one there to see- and got ready for work. She realized, now, that the majority of her thoughts and reactions last night had been heavily influenced by the alcohol and she had been being overdramatic. However, that didn't mean she had been wrong in thinking that Olivia should have at least called and told her. No- Olivia shouldn't of stood her up for Alex, period.

Casey heard someone knocking on her door and approached it sadly, not in the mood to deal with anybody right now. Outside, she found an apologetic Olivia standing in the doorway, holding two cups of coffee stacked on top of one another in one hand and a paper bag from her favorite bagel store around the corner.

She clenched her jaw, glaring at her. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Olivia chewed on her lower lip anxiously before hesitantly raising her gaze to Casey. "I came to apologize... Casey, I'm so sorry."

"And what are you apologizing for?" Casey asked coldly, wanting to see if Olivia even realized how distraught her actions last night had left her.

"For going to Alex last night, not answering any of your calls. It's just... Elliot told me I had to talk to Alex about what she said, and I swear I'm telling you the truth when I'm saying this, I thought it was Elliot calling me to find out what was going on. So, I'm sorry. I never once thought it was you."

"Never once thought it was me?" Casey questioned harshly as all her reasoning from earlier vanished, to be replaced by a cold fury. "I'm your girlfriend! Well, so you say. Of course I would be calling you!"

Olivia hung her head, ashamed. "I... I know. I just wasn't thinking about you when-"

"Oh, so you just weren't _thinking_ about me, is that it?" Olivia knew she deserved Casey's anger, so she just stood there and waited it out. "Olivia, I called you thirteen times. _Thirteen times!_ I'm not happy that you never told me about Alex being alive, but I understand that it wasn't because you didn't trust me, it was because you couldn't tell _anyone_ the truth about it. But I'm not going to just be the girl you go to for a good fuck when your lover's out of town. If you had just bothered to even _call _me, then we wouldn't be having this discussion, Olivia!"

"Casey, I'm-" Olivia tried, but Casey wasn't done yet.

"I mean, what the hell was I supposed to think? The ghost of everyone's favorite lawyer Alex Cabot comes back from the dead to tell you she loves you, then kisses you. That _very next day,_ without ever even _mentioning_ it to me, you go to her place and don't answer any of my damn calls! Really, Olivia, what the hell did you even _expect_ me to think? Huh? That you were telling her goodbye or that you were telling her you loved her?"

"I know, Casey, I know- you have every right to be angry with me... I'm sorry. I know this doesn't even begin to make up for what I've done, but... here." She handed out the coffee and bag with an apologetic smile. Casey just glared at her coldly. Olivia sighed, then said, "I'm so sorry, Casey. I promise that I don't have feelings for her and that I really didn't think it was you calling me. Still, I didn't think about you when I made the decision to stay with Alex last night and I'm _sorry_. Please, please forgive me."

Casey hesitated, then finally softened. She took the gifts from Olivia and kissed her on the cheek. "I know, Olivia... Liv. Just... I know that this isn't really fair of me to ask, but can you just give me some time? I'm not contemplating breaking up with you or anything, but I just need some time to get used to... everything. That Alex is really still alive, but that doesn't change anything between you and me."

Olivia sighed sadly, but knew it was probably the best she was going to get. "Of course, Casey. You can call me when you're ready, okay?" Casey nodded in relief, smiling slightly at her before the detective shifted awkwardly on her feet and said, "Um, I... I should probably get going, I'm already late for work, and..."

Casey nodded knowingly. "Of course. Run along, Detective, we all have work to do." Olivia shook her head and left, but she was smiling.

* * *

><p>"Alex!" Liz Donnelly exclaimed when she saw her in the hallway. "Well, it seems the rumors are true."<p>

Alex nodded unhappily, having gotten fed up with the ghost comments a long time ago. "Yes, they are. Nice to see you again, Liz."

"You too, Alex. But I hear you're not back permanently, are you? Just to testify in SVU's most recent case?"

Alex nodded sadly, not too glad about the 'not back permanently' part, but then she remembered. "Hey, Liz, you're friends with both Olivia and Novak, aren't you?"

Liz shrugged. "Yes, and?"

Alex hesitated, looking around in case that annoying redhead was anywhere near, then asked softly, "So then, you know they're dating, right?" Liz nodded again, clearly confused as to where this was headed. "Well, Liz, I was wondering... have they had any big fights yet? Or are they really-" Alex nearly choked on the next words, "as happy as they seem?"

Liz frowned at her, but since she didn't know about Alex's feelings for Olivia, she didn't see any harm in telling her. "Well, they do fight a lot," she confessed. "Whenever Casey talks to me about it- which is rarely- the fights always seem to have to be about nothing. Once, they fought about what restaurant they were going to go to on their date... but I think most of the fights have an underlying cause: You."

Alex looked up at her in surprise, a spark of hope in her heart. "Me?" she asked in confusion. "Why would they be fighting about me?"

"Alex... look, you don't know what Casey and that squad went through after you 'died'. Casey was thrown into the legal equivalent of the seventh circle of Hades, on the heels of the legal goddess, of which legends of how she could get any warrant, win any case, had spread about the entire DA's office, who had just been _killed_ doing the job _she_ was about to take up. The detectives she works with hate her and can't stand the sight of her, of anything that's not their legal prodigy Alex Cabot. Every place of friendship she goes with those detectives is haunted by your ghost, Alex, and Casey isn't sure, but she thinks you may have slept with Olivia, despite what she says."

Alex couldn't hold back a small smile at that- she wasn't easy to replace. The detectives put up one hell of a fight for her, and Casey Novak wasn't going to get to just waltz in and take her place so easily as that redheaded bitch had expected.

Alex thanked Liz before turning and continuing down the hallway. She, honestly, didn't want to break Casey and Olivia apart if Olivia really was happy right now. But, by the sound of it, she wasn't. She and Casey were always fighting- but Olivia wouldn't listen to her if Alex tried to say something. Olivia would just say she was jealous… which she was.

She wasn't going to get to stay in New York, she already knew that, and she wasn't going to expect Olivia to come with her- that was asking too much, and besides, she knew how much the detective loved her job. Alex would never ask her to get up and leave all that.

But, someday, Ceaser Velez would be brought down, and she would return to New York. And Alex Cabot would be dammed if Olivia had been taken by the Casey Novak and was trapped in a loveless relationship when she did.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the review! Um, I haven't seen 'Ghost' since I was eight. So I'm just going to skip over the trial and go after Liam Conners was convicted.

**Chapter 5**

"Thank you... so much, Casey," Olivia told her girlfriend as she embraced her tightly. "I know you don't like Alex, but you brought her shooter to justice. Thank you so much."

Casey smiled at Olivia and squeezed her again before stepping back from the hug, keeping an arm wrapped around Olivia's shoulders. "It's my job, Olivia. It doesn't matter who the victim is." Olivia smiled at her again before drinking the rest of her champagne.

The whole squad had gathered together in a bar for a celebratory drink after Casey had gotten a conviction on Alex's case. But Casey could tell the detectives weren't entirely focused on celebrating tonight... not that she was surprised. As much as she disliked Alex, she knew the squad would never forget her, and they didn't like the fact that she was going back into Witness Protection. But she knew they wouldn't talk about it while she was there.

After a moment of hesitation, she got to her feet and said, "Sorry, but I've got to go- have some stuff to finish up at the office. Bye, you guys."

Olivia, ever her knight in shining armor, asked, "You want me to come with you? I could keep you company."

Casey shook her head, unable to hold back a smile. "No, that's okay. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Everybody nodded and said their goodbyes as Casey left the bar. They were all slightly relieved to see her leave so they didn't have to pretend that they were thrilled about this. When Casey was gone, smiles faded and they all returned to their drinks sullenly, basking in memories and stories about Alex.

Olivia's cell phone vibrated- a text message from Alex. She frowned in surprise. Olivia would of thought the former ADA would have been on a flight to Wisconsin or wherever the feds were stashing her next by now.

_Liv, I'm in New York until morning. It's my last night as Alex. Can you please come over? I don't want to be alone. _

Olivia hesitated, biting her lip. She knew Casey wouldn't be happy about it... but this was going to be Alex's last night home, as Alexandra Cabot, for who knows how long. She deserved to be with her friends, rather than alone. It didn't help that she still blamed herself for not keeping Alex safe last year... if she'd only protected her, Alex would still be home.

She sighed helplessly before texting Alex that she was on her way and getting up to leave, mumbling an excuse to the guys on her way out.

* * *

><p>Olivia slipped silently into Alex's hotel room to find the former ADA in tears, curled up into a tiny ball on the couch, sobbing violently into a pillow. Olivia knew what she was upset about, and the sight of her broke her heart. "Oh, Alex..." she said softly, taking a slow step forward.<p>

The blonde looked up at her with tearful eyes before shooing the detective out the door. "Go, Olivia. Go be with Casey. Leave me alone," she cried.

"Not a chance in hell," Olivia said as she rushed forward, gathering Alex in her arms. "Alex... I'm so sorry."

"I don't want to leave!" Alex exclaimed, burying her head into Olivia's shoulder. "I want to stay here!" And while Alex was never a woman to let someone else see her cry- what was the point of staying strong now? She was never going to see Olivia or any of her friends ever again. For once, she was in the middle of a breakdown and Alex couldn't muster up enough pride or strength to stop it.

Olivia rubbed small circles into her back, wishing she could say something to comfort her. "I know, sweetie, I know." She held Alex tightly in her arms for the longest time, wishing that, by holding her tight enough, she could keep her in New York.

Alex remained in Olivia's protective embrace, but not even that was making her feel better.

One thing would- and that was Olivia. Not just her presence, but with her, _inside_ her… loving her. She needed this. Her last night in her old life… that would make the perfect ending, and those memories would sustain her in the witness protection program as long as they had to.

Her mind made up, Alex finally pulled back, keeping a tight grip on the detective's shoulders. "Liv, please," she begged. "Just do one thing for me."

"Anything, Alex," she promised instantly. Anything to make her feel better. Anything to comfort her friend, because soon she was walking back into the dangerous, lie of a life, and it was all her fault for not stopping Cesear Velez from hurting her. "Anything."

"Sleep with me," she pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks, her normally icy blue eyes red from crying, her arms shaking as she held onto Olivia tighter. "Sleep with me tonight, and I'll be gone tomorrow. The perfect one night stand."

Olivia pulled back from her grip, distraught. "Alex, I... I can't do that. You know I can't. You know why."

"Please, Olivia! I... I'm never going to be able to come back here again, to be _me_ again. I want my last night as Alex Cabot to be perfect. I don't want to regret- just, please, Olivia. Please, I'll do anything," she begged. That, more than anything, got to Olivia. Alex Cabot was not a beggar. No one could knock her to her knees and make her desperate enough to beg.

"I... I'm sorry, Alex. I'm sorry. And you could come home, Alex, I promise, we'll get Velez on something and we'll bring you home."

"You don't know that!" Alex sobbed, still without letting go of Olivia. "You don't know that you'll ever find him- and I don't want to... I just- I-" she struggled to find the right words, unable to stop the tears. "I want to be able to remember you, Olivia. I don't want to forget you, and I don't want to forget who I am, when the feds have shuttled me off to some small town in Wisconsin with a new name and a new life. Please."

"Alex, I can't!" Olivia exclaimed, pleading with her to understand. "I don't love you, and Casey- I can't betray Casey."

Alex's gaze darkened at the mention of Casey, and she let go of Olivia like she'd been burned. She got up and started pacing back and forth, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Finally, she said softly, "Olivia... I know it doesn't mean you love me. It'll be what I want, what I need, and... it will just make you... lucky."

"Alex, I have Casey," Olivia repeated weakly. "I can't betray her."

"Please," she repeated. "Please. Casey doesn't have to know," she said before stepping forward and kissing her softly, her tears staining Olivia's cheek.

Olivia stepped back, her heart breaking as she said, "I don't want to keep secrets from her, Alex. I don't want to betray her."

"Do it," Alex enticed, closing the distance and kissing her again. "For me."

Olivia's body wanted Alex, and her mind felt too guilty about Alex's current predicament to refuse the teary-eyed woman anything. She knew Casey would hate her, but maybe, if she did this for Alex, the rest of her life wouldn't be quite so horrible, living a lie, away from her friends and family, in fear for her life.

* * *

><p>Alex lay in bed, her arm draped across the still warm, yet empty space that had so recently been occupied by Olivia. It's not like she had expected Olivia to stay. And it was easier this way. If she had stayed, Alex probably would of begged Olivia to reconsider her- made a fool out of herself, yet again.<p>

As she rolled over to start pulling clothes off the floor, she caught sight of her laptop in the corner. The flashing red light that meant her webcam was on.

That by itself wasn't nearly enough to give Alex the incentive to do anything. But it was the fact that Alex had looked forward to this for nearly a year now… but that wasn't what she wanted.

Yes, she wanted Olivia… but last night shouldn't of happened. She didn't regret it; not at all- but it made her want Olivia even more because she didn't _want_ a one night stand, not with her. She wanted a night that meant something to the _both_ of them… not this.

And that realization didn't just spark sadness… also anger. And it was all directed at Casey.

This was Casey's fault. If Olivia had never met her, than Olivia wouldn't be stuck with her when Casey clearly made her miserable. Then, perhaps, Alex and Olivia could have been a reality, if only for one night- not just the cheap facade that took place in this bedroom only several hours previously.

She wanted to hurt Casey. Not physically, because that would heal. And taking Olivia from her would do just that.

* * *

><p>Casey was getting ready for work the same morning Alex was leaving for Wisconsin. Since she had turned in early the night before, she was wide awake for once, and in a particularly good mood. She and Olivia hadn't talked much ever since Alex had come back, but after that first fight, it seemed as if they were closer than before. After all, Alex had confessed her eternal love for Olivia- all Casey could offer was that maybe, someday, she would love her, but she didn't yet- and yet Olivia had still chosen her. She smiled at her amazing good fortune, buttoning up her blouse and reaching over for her cell phone, then frowning when she saw she had a voicemail. Shrugging, she flipped open her phone and started to listen to it.<p>

"Casey, it's Alex Cabot," the icy voice greeted her. "I'm boarding a flight to an 'undisclosed location' in five minutes, so you won't be able to call me back. You can just check the email I sent you for confirmation. But Olivia and I slept together. I didn't trick her, I didn't get her drunk. So don't think of just accusing me when she played an equal part in what happened. Yes, I'm telling you this because I want Olivia, not because I give a damn about you. But I didn't want to come back to find her trapped with you, especially if she never told you about what happened. But hey, don't believe me. Check your email for confirmation."

Casey stood there in shock for at least five seconds before, panting, she dashed over to her computer, frantically turning it on and logging into her email. Alex was lying. She had to be lying. Olivia would never, _ever_ cheat on her. Alex was just jealous and heartbroken and confused and she was lying. Olivia wouldn't of had sex with her.

There was an email from an unknown address waiting for her. Nothing to be afraid of, though, it could just be spam, or work, or anything but Olivia cheating on her. She clicked it, and the only thing in it was a video.

A video of Alex and Olivia having sex.

She got ready to work slowly, robotically, trying to remain apathetic. She didn't want to have emotions about going to work today. She froze when she found her hands gripping the low cut sweater Olivia had given her. Olivia had said that she had been window shopping and that, when she had seen it, she had thought of her. She closed her eyes tightly, biting her trembling lip, then ripped the sweater in half and threw the pieces in opposite directions. "Probably was one of Alex's things," she muttered under her breath. "Gave it to me so she could fantasize about Alex. Alex, Alex, Alex. Alex this, Alex that. When's it gonna be _Casey_ this _Casey_ that? Hell, I'd settle for her remembering me every couple of weeks. Even her seeing me as anyone other than the god damn replacement or the whore to use for her viewing pleasure."

Casey knew her rambling thoughts weren't making much sense, but then again, there was no one here to hear them. She sat on her bed, looking at the clothes strewn across the floor. Should she dress to entice Olivia, make her jealous? Or cover herself up so Olivia wouldn't have the viewing pleasure?

Jealous, she decided, jealous was her best bet. She wanted it to hurt when she walked away, since all Olivia seemed to care about was a good fuck anyway. When she finally had chosen what to wear and gotten dressed, she surveyed her reflection in the mirror proudly. She had done her hair up just the way Olivia liked it, the shade of lipstick Olivia liked- all the jewelry that she loved. The black, low cut dress that just barely was long enough for court, her knee high leather boots... she wanted to make her jealous. She didn't want to give Olivia a choice between her and Alex. Olivia had already chosen that when she didn't pull away from Alex. When she had stayed the night with Alex. When she never called or answered her own calls. When she had had _sex_ with her. One night of heaven in exchange for what might have been a lifetime with her.

Casey swallowed nervously, glaring at her reflection now. She wasn't like this. She didn't want to use the way she looked to get anything. That wasn't something she had ever done before Olivia. "What the hell does this woman do to me?" she muttered under her breath.

Blushing furiously, Casey crossed her arms tightly and headed out the door. Whether or not she was proud of it or not, she wanted to make Olivia hurt for doing this, and this was the only way she could. Olivia clearly didn't give a fuck about what she said, so physical urges would have to do.

* * *

><p>"Wow. Olivia, I don't know what you did for Casey last night, but it must have been amazing," Elliot said as he caught a glimpse of Casey approaching the squad room. He couldn't see her expression, only what she was wearing, but it certainly made him jealous. Olivia jerked shakily, smiling weakly at him and shrugging before realizing what he had said and whipping around in her chair.<p>

She smiled involuntarily, knowing she did not deserve Casey to be wearing the most beautiful, sexy outfit in front of her and walking seductively towards her. Shaking her head, she quickly looked away, feeling wrong for staring at the woman she'd betrayed. She was going to take Casey aside, explain what she had done and the reasons, and pray this amazing woman didn't kick her out of her life entirely.

Casey didn't say anything, just dropped a box of stuff on Olivia's desk and watched her expressionlessly. Olivia frowned, then looked inside- it was full of every gift she had ever given her, including the ones from before they'd started dating- even a sweater ripped in half. "Casey?" she asked in confusion. "What is this?"

Casey replied in a deadly quiet voice, "Stand up, Olivia."

The detective was confused but did as she asked. "Casey, what-" she was interrupted by a stinging slap to the face, Casey's sharp, cold gaze never wavering.

Elliot immediately got to his feet, reaching up to restrain Casey, but she held her hand out to stop him. She had eyes only for Olivia as she said, "You kissed her. You spent the night with her. And then you slept with her. _You_ slept with _her_. _You_ slept with that whore!" She slapped Olivia again, fire lighting up in her eyes as she screamed, "You cheated on me with that filthy whore! You said you didn't love her and you lied!"

Stunned, Olivia started with, "Casey-"

"_No! _Don't you deny it, Olivia! I saw a video of you having sex with that whore! I saw you screaming her name! I saw you on top of her! So don't you _dare_ try and say you never had sex with Alex Cabot, you bitch! That box is full of every single thing you ever gave me because I don't want anything left of you in my apartment! I don't want to see you ever again unless it's for work. You never call me unless its for work, never come to my office unless its for work- and if you ever dare show up at my apartment again, I'll greet you with a baseball bat." With that, Casey turned on her heel and stalked out of the squad room, slamming the door on her way out.

The two detectives stared after her for a moment before Elliot turned to Olivia and asked, "You didn't- Liv, you never slept with Alex, did you?"

Regretting her decision to ever say yes to the blonde, former ADA, Olivia nodded shamefacedly and collapsed into her chair, tears in her eyes. Elliot stared at her for a moment before shaking his head in disgust and taking off after Casey.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for reviewing! And, anon- you're the jackass from This Glassy Surface! Hey- get the fuck out! Why don't you go bash Casey at TWoP and read an AO story while you're at it ;) I don't really care, just get the fuck out of my story. Or don't. As always, your flames (as you are the ONLY one who flames me) will be used to make Smores!

**Chapter 6**

Elliot caught up with Casey nearly a block away from the precinct. He had to grab her by the arms and hold her in place to stop her from continuing to run as fast as she could... running as if her past was catching up to her.

"Casey!" he exclaimed, holding her arms too tightly to allow her to run from him.

"What the fuck do you want?" she shouted at him, trying in vain to get away from his grasp, not at all interested in talking to her cheating ex's partner. She didn't care what he said about Olivia or Alex, she wasn't going to forgive either one of them and she certainly wasn't going to back together with that lying bitch.

Loosening his hold slightly, Elliot asked, "Casey, what's going on? How did you find out about Olivia sleeping with Alex?"

"Your most loved prosecutor of all time sent me a video! She told me what she and Olivia did and the video just proves it! Don't worry, I don't plan on staying around long. And when I'm gone, you all can talk about your prefect Alex being so much better than your worthless ex-ADA, me, and Olivia can fuck her all she wants." She tried to pull away again, but the male detective still wouldn't let her.

"Casey, I've told you once, and I'm going to tell you again, just because we miss Alex doesn't mean we wouldn't miss you if you left. I don't know why the hell Olivia would sleep with Alex but I certainly don't condone her actions- and you have every right to break up with her. As far as I'm concerned, you have every right to hate her and tell her to go to hell."

She tried to pull away from him once again and shouted, "Elliot, just shut up! Olivia has been your best friend for the better part of six years and Alex Cabot was your legal goddess of a lawyer for three! I've been your colleague for a year. Don't you try to tell me you'll choose me over them; I don't need someone else lying to me right now! Just leave me alone!"

"Casey-"

The ADA slapped him as hard as she could, taking advantage of his momentary surprise to rip away from his grasp and run from him again. Shaking his head and swearing under his breath, he took off after her again, easily overtaking her in her high heels. Deciding that nothing he said was going to convince her to stay and hear him out, he slammed her against the wall and started to cuff her. "Casey, you're under arrest for the assault of a police office. You have the right-"

_"What the hell are you doing?"_ she screamed, struggling to turn around and punch him again. "Elliot! Let me go! Now!"

"Either you stay and listen to me now, or I drag you down to the station in handcuffs and you listen to me in an interrogation room. Your choice," he said harshly.

Groaning in aggravation, she snapped, "Fine! You and Benson always get what you want, anyway, might as well make it easier for you. I'll talk with you here!"

He sighed in relief as he took the cuffs off her and released her, backing up a few steps in case she tried to hit him again. "Casey, just because I've known Olivia and Alex for a long time doesn't mean I'll just automatically side with them. I told Olivia to think about which one she wanted, you or Alex, not to have sex with Alex and hide it from you. What she did was wrong and irresponsible. I'm sorry I had to threaten you to get you to stop and listen to me, but I wanted you to know that I'm not lying when I say that I'm on your side 100% in this."

Casey glared at him, then slumped back against the wall, covering her face with her hands. "Why can't you guys just see me as somebody, _anybody_ other than _her_ replacement! I am sick and tired of people seeing me in her shadow! Why can't you people look at me and see someone who isn't trying to replace Alex Cabot! I get that she was your favorite, that you'll always chose her over me, and while I hate it and I know that isn't going to change- but can't you at least have the decency to treat me like a human being, not just your stupid replacement! Just because I'm not Alex doesn't mean I'm not at least a capable attorney who doesn't exist to serve as your punching bag," she spat before turning and stalking away. This time, Elliot didn't follow- she needed time to herself, now, to decide what the hell she was going to do with an impossible situation that had just gotten that much worse.

* * *

><p>Once Casey had fixed her mascara and pulled the tangles out of her hair, she was able to walk out of the restroom with her head held high... ignoring the whispers in the hall- that it was the ghost of the ghost of Alex Cabot.<p>

Liz was waiting for her at her office. "Casey, you're late," she said before handing her a file. "That's the result of your subpoena yesterday. You need to go down and apologize to the CEO's assistant at the record's company before he calls his lawyer and sues you."

"I'm sorry," Casey mumbled automatically. "I'll do it right now." She took the file from the lawyer's hands and set it down on her desk, closing her eyes and letting out a low, shuddering breath.

Liz frowned on her way out of the ADA's office, looking back over her shoulder. Casey was leaning against her desk, her head down, expression hidden by her hair. "What, Liz?" she asked softly when she didn't hear the judge leave.

"Casey, why _were _you late today? Did something happen?"

Casey immediately shook her head, but when Liz continued to watch her, she sighed and said, her voice quiet and defeated, "Okay... maybe something. But it isn't a problem, Liz. Please, just leave me alone. I'll apologize to that assistant."

"Casey, what's going on?" Liz asked after a moment of silence. "First, Alex Cabot returns from the dead. That's strange enough, then, she starts asking me about you and Benson, and now she's back in Witness Protection, and the next day, you come to work looking like someone killed your puppy."

Casey chuckled hoarsely and shook her head without humor. "Well, if you define someone as Olivia and Alex and puppy as any dignity I had before this week, than yes... Listen, Liz, can you please just leave me alone?"

It took more prodding, but Casey eventually just told her what happened to make Liz leave her alone. "Olivia and Alex slept together before Cabot left for WP last night. Yes, I have proof. Cabot sent me a video of it. No, I'm not crazy and I don't know why Olivia would do it, but we're through. Now, if you don't mind getting out-"

Casey was interrupted by a smashing sound as Olivia ran into her office, actually sliding into the door because she was going so fast. Casey immediately stepped back as the detective, who was gasping for breath, panted, "Casey! Case... we need... to talk."

"The fuck we do. Get out of here. Now," Casey snapped and pointed out the door, but Olivia didn't look like she was planning on leaving anytime soon.

"_No_, Casey! Not until we talk this out!" she shouted.

"Excuse me? Where the hell do you get off telling _me _we have to talk something out! Get the hell out of here!"

Olivia flinched guiltily and looked down, clearly ashamed. "I guess I deserve that. Casey... look, I know we got off on the wrong foot-"

"The wrong foot?" Casey demanded, taking a threatening step forward. Liz put a hand on her arm, trying to stop her from doing something she would regret, but Casey didn't care anymore. "The wrong foot, Olivia? The only right foot is my foot up your ass! I don't want to see you in here _ever_ again! Get the hell away from me! I swear to god-"

"Casey, I'm so sorry," Olivia said softly, her quiet voice enough to interrupt Casey's furious threat. "You have every right to be mad at me, but I was going to tell you what happened beforet-"

"But you were blinded by your love for the famous Alex Cabot, so you forgot that she would only be here for a couple more hours before disappearing from your life forever, but you couldn't even restrain yourself to-"

"Okay, Case, what you have had me do?" she cried, exasperated. "If I loved her, would your rather me stay with you, in a relationship that would ultimately only bring both of us heartbreak, instead of being with the woman I loved, even if only for a few hours?"

Casey froze, her expression clouded with hurt for a long moment before she wiped it blank. Knowing Olivia loved Alex and the choice she had made hurt. Hearing her say it out loud, on the other hand, hurt so much more.

Olivia stared at Casey in horror, struggling to make amends for what she'd just said. God, she'd been speaking in hypothetical terms, but it had come out sounding very, very wrong. Considering the circumstances, it wasn't surprising that Casey had taken it the wrong way. "Oh my god, Case, I'm sorry, that wasn't what I meant-"

"Out," Casey gasped hoarsely, shaking furiously from indescribable anger as she hurried forward and started pushing Olivia out of her office. "Out, out, out." She forced the detective into the hallway, then looked around, seemingly confused, before taking off in the other direction.

"Casey!" Olivia called after her, but Liz stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm sorry, what I said just came out wrong-"

"The hell you detectives put her through when she was first assigned to SVU wasn't enough, was it?" Liz demanded. "You still have to try and make her feel inferior to Alex?"

"Liz-"

"Look, Detective, your chances of winning back Casey's friendship are slim to none. Chances of getting her back as a partner are nonexistent. And if you try and push it now, you'll be lucky if she ever speaks to you again- which, right now, I really don't think you deserve. If you know what's best for you, though, you would stay out of this."

This time, when Liz turned to hurry after Casey, Olivia didn't follow her.

* * *

><p>Elliot walked into the courtroom, hoping to catch Casey before she left, but instead saw her giving a long, furious rant to Trevor Langan, filled with many violent gestures and colorful phrases that certainly painted quite a picture of what the ADA would like to do to the defense attorney. Langan was watching in both confusion and amusement- Casey was lucky everybody else had left after the judge had adjourned court, or she would never hear the end of it.<p>

When it looked like Langan was about to try a put a stop to Casey's rant, Elliot stepped forward, putting a hand on the ADA's shoulder and attempting to pull her back. Casey whirled on him and shouted, "_What, Elliot?_"

"Casey, you need to calm down."

"No, _you_ need to let me go!" She pushed his hand off her shoulder, then turned to continue yelling at Langan. Elliot turned her back around to face him and started to say something, but Casey interrupted him. "You're just like your partner, you know that? Just assuming that you can fix everything, that I want you here, that everything's fine? Well, you're _wrong! _And you can tell your partner that I'm not just some whore she can dangle out on a string and come back to whenever she misses Alex."

"Casey, she told me before, she doesn't love Alex and she's-"

"She doesn't? Really? She told you that?" Casey spat out in disgust. "That's strange, because she told me the exact opposite."

She tried to turn to leave again, but Elliot pulled her back and asked, "What? When did she tell you that- Olivia told me-"

Casey just ripped out of his grip and stormed away, leaving a stunned detective and defense attorney behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for reviewing!

**Chapter 7**

Elliot hurried into the bar, looking around worriedly for wherever Casey might have gotten off to. The bartender noticed him and waved him over, asking, "You Detective Stabler?"

Elliot nodded. "Yeah, I'm the one you spoke to on the phone. Where is she?"

The bartender jabbed his thumb in the direction of the end of the bar and said, "Get her out of here. I lost count of how many drinks she had after seven."

Shaking his head, Elliot headed over to Casey, calling her name and trying to get her attention. It wasn't until he grabbed her shoulder, however, that she looked up at him with bleary eyes and a confused grin. "Oh!" she exclaimed, her words slurring. "Elliot! What a surprise!"

"Yeah, Casey, let me get you out of here." He put Casey's coat on for her, as she was still struggling to talk and probably wasn't even steady enough to put it on herself.

"You're nice," she slurred, collapsing against him arm. "You're a nice man."'

Groaning, Elliot pulled her to her feet and helped her stagger towards the door. "Well, I'll be sure to remember that someone as drunk as you are right now complimented me."

"I'm not drunk," she slurred, stumbling against him. "El, stop moving the room. That's mean."

"You're not drunk, huh?" he chuckled and shook his head in amusement.

Casey shook her head slowly and said, "Nope! ...hey, you wanna know a secret?" Using Elliot's shoulders as leverage, she stood up straighter to speak in his ear, and giggled, "I acshually am drunk. That's a funny word. Accccchussssllly."

Elliot couldn't helped but be amused as Casey continued to have fun with the pronunciation of 'actually', and continued to try and maneuver her outside. He was going to wait until she had sobered up to try and ask her about what exactly had happened with Olivia- his partner was being vague about it- but Casey started talking about it first.

"Wanna know another secret?" she asked as she fumbled with her seatbelt. "Liv. She loves Alexia Cabot."

"Alex," Elliot corrected on autopilot, then realized what she said and glanced at her in concern "Wait, what? No, Casey, she doesn't. She told me she doesn't."

Casey looked over at him, her green eyes wide with confusion as she stared at him blearily. "But... Liv says she loves Alex. You confusing me."

He grimaced, trying to make sense of whatever the hell was going on. But when he looked over at her, he saw that questioning her about it would have to wait until tomorrow. "Well, as long as you don't throw up in my car," he muttered at the now unconscious attorney.

* * *

><p>"This is Detective Elliot Stabler. I'm calling on behalf of Casey Novak; she's not coming in today, she's-"<p>

"Hungover and still asleep on the couch?" Liz supplied.

Elliot grinned and glanced over at Casey, who was, in fact, still out cold. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I was there yesterday when your partner tried to confront her. After I heard about what she did to Langan after court, I guessed this would be the outcome."

"Well, she probably would of tried to drive home if the bartender hadn't got my name and number from her cellphone... Liz, why are you on Casey's boss's phone anyway?"

"She's not," a new voice announced gruffly. "She was in my office and I put my phone on speaker. Tell Casey she can take her sick day, but we need her back tomorrow."

Elliot thanked him and hung up, then after calling Cragen and getting himself the day off too, he tried to wake up Casey. She remained still for a couple moments as he shook her shoulder, but she finally gave a low groan and buried her head into the pillow. "No," she said in a low voice. "Not getting up."

"You really should, Casey. I have some excedrin that will make your headache go away."

"No," she mumbled again. "Oh, god, my head..."

Elliot chuckled quietly and nodded. "Yes, you've probably got a headache. Wake up and I'll give you that excedrin I was talking about earlier."

Casey sighed, then slowly opened her eyes and stared up at him. "Ugh... why did you wake me up?" she muttered before pushing herself upright. "Oh, bad idea," Casey hissed when her head started pounding even worse. "Son of a bitch..."

"Here," Elliot told her and handed her the pills, along with a glass of water. Casey swallowed them with relief before looking around Elliot's house in confusion.

"Well.. judging by the state of my head, I'm guessing you found me drunk last night?"

Elliot nodded. "Yeah. Kathy wasn't happy when she saw me carrying an unconscious woman into the house."

Casey grimaced, closing her eyes and lying back down. "Why'd you bring me here?" she muttered. "Could of just brought me to my apartment building."

"Yes, but I don't have a key to your apartment and didn't want to spend half the night hunting for a spare."

"Fine. Tell Kathy that I'm sorry for stealing her couch for the night. I need to get to work." Even though she said she was getting up, though, Casey kept her eyes closed and didn't make any move to start getting ready.

"Case, I already called in sick for you."

Casey opened her eyes again and pierced him with a verdant glare. "Why? I can work. I'm not sick."

"Yeah, I know, but after everything that's happened these past couple days, I figured you could use a day off. I also wanted the chance to talk to you; figure out what exactly Olivia told you. You kept saying that Liv told you she loves Alex, and Olivia won't tell me what happened."

Frowning, the ADA tried to remember whatever the hell had happened yesterday. It took her a few seconds to recall the conversation in her office, which was all she needed to know to figure out why she had gotten so drunk last night. She groaned again, rolling over and trying to go back to sleep. Maybe then, she would wake up and this whole mess would end up just being a bad dream.

But Elliot wasn't letting her go back to sleep. If it wasn't for the fact that the medicine was starting to take affect and make her headache go away, though, she probably wouldn't of responded to him at all.

Finally, she rolled onto her back and glared up at him. "Are you ever going to leave me alone?" she asked, and when he continued to just sit and stare at her, she gave up. "Fine. I was in my office with Liz, and your partner showed up. She tried to talk to me, and eventually let it slip that she loves Alex. Then she tried to take it back, and I think you know what happened next."

Elliot sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Casey. I thought she didn't love her. I honestly thought she only liked Alex as a friend; I wouldn't have told you anything else otherwise."

"I know. I'm not mad at you. It's Olivia. She's the one I hate right now. I mean, I've been in a lot of screwed up relationships, but this one takes the cake. I just kept forgiving her... I can't do it this time. It's too big."

"I'm not saying that you should. But, while we're at work, could you be civil to her? Not because she deserves it, after what happened, but for the sake of the victims. We won't be able to get any work done if you two are always at each others' throats."

She just sighed. "Right now, I don't want to be 'civil' to her. I'd rather treat her as a punching bag. But I suppose I don't have to really have that much contact with her, right? Although I still prefer the punching bag option to the silence one..."

* * *

><p>It was a week before Casey would say anything to Olivia besides the occasional insult. Normally, she wouldn't even acknowledge the fact that her ex girlfriend was in the room, but sometimes she couldn't resist the urge to give her a scathing remark before leaving. Olivia hadn't stopped trying to apologize to her, even though Casey would either just leave or would begin shouting at her the moment she tried.<p>

Finally, though, Casey decided that Elliot was right. She came down to the squad room early one morning to find it deserted besides for Olivia, who was working on some paperwork. Casey cleared her throat and said softly, "Olivia?"

The detective gasped, twisting around in her chair to face her before jumping to her feet and exclaiming, "Casey! You're here..."

"Yes. I wanted to talk to you." Olivia nodded eagerly, and Casey fought to keep her voice steady as she continued. "Olivia, I want you to understand that I can't forgive you for what you did with Alex. Please stop trying to get me to take you back."

"But, Casey! I'm so sorry! But I don't love her, I never did-"

"Please don't lie to me. It's insulting and I never asked you to lie. I just asked if you loved her. You could of at least had the decency to tell me the truth. But that's over and done with. I'm here to say that I can't forgive you for that and that we won't be as close friends as we were before. But I'm willing to at least work with you again. But I want you to stop trying to get me to give you a second chance. It's in the past, and you can't change it. I want us both to move on."

Olivia shook her head weakly, unable to believe she could screw up this badly. She had to stop this from happening. "No... no! Casey, I'm so sorry, I swear, it'll never happen again. And I don't love her, I promise, I never did-"

"Good bye, Olivia. I didn't come to discuss this with you. I wanted to tell you what I had decided about the two of us. I don't want to talk this out. The damage has already been done." Olivia tried to talk to her again, but Casey didn't allow her to. "Good bye, Olivia," Casey said softly before turning and walking away from the Olivia.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for reviewing! Final chapter! Yes, there will be a sequel. POSSIBLY called, 'May the odds be ever in your favor', title very subject to change. No relation to the Hunger Games whatsoever, I just... couldn't think of any good title at all. I'm also not promising anything until May. I have a very important, expensive, and difficult exam on May 7th. I really need to study. As in, DESPERATELY. Any of you a good AP chem tutor? So, anyway, I won't have much time to work on anything until after that exam. Anyway, enjoy!

Spoilers for 'Night' this chapter.

**Chapter 8**

Weeks passed. Olivia and Casey remained cold to each other, only speaking when absolutely necessary. Casey still went out for drinks with the rest of the squad, but only occasionally- most of the time, she would claim she was busy and decline.

It was the Carrie Eldridge case that bridged the gap between detective and ADA. Though Casey was still furious at her, Olivia had opened up about her past and asked her to give the kid a deal. And no matter how much she hated Olivia, she couldn't help but be moved by her story. After Olivia had told her what had happened to her, Casey hadn't been able to help the urge to comfort her. The romantic spark they'd had before... was Casey imagining it, or was it rekindling? Because, whether she could forgive Olivia or not, Casey still wasn't planning on getting back together with her. As much as she hated Alex and would love to screw her over like this, it wouldn't be fair to anyone involved to try with Olivia again when she loved someone else.

She also just couldn't find it in her to forgive Olivia. If she had cheated with anybody else, yes, Casey would still be furious... but with Alex. The woman who had haunted her every step ever since transferring to SVU. Who Casey was now afraid would return and claim her position at SVU back, even though she knew Alex was hidden away in Witness Protection and wouldn't be returning any time soon. After all, the woman had returned from the dead. Returning from WP didn't seem so difficult, after that.

Out of all people, Olivia had chosen Alex to sleep with. The one that would make her want to cry and scream instead of just scream. The one that would make her question everything she had once thought constant...

Forgiving Olivia... Casey didn't think she could do that. Nevertheless, they continued to get closer as time passed, until one day, when they were working late in Casey's office...

* * *

><p>Casey hung up the phone and looked back at Olivia in surprise. "Flowers," she said as a way of an explanation for the phone call.<p>

Olivia blinked, then looked away and crossed her arms uncomfortably. "Oh," she murmured. "You holding out on me?" _Come on, Olivia. You knew she was going to start dating again eventually. Had to happen sometime..._

"No... I'm single." Casey's voice was soft as she watched the detective carefully. "Olivia, please don't be jealous. I'm not interested in anyone right now anyway, and..." she trailed off, tapping her pen against the desk as she tried to find something comforting to say and failed.

Forcing a smile, Olivia shrugged and looked back at the ADA. "I'm fine. Do you want some coffee?" She didn't want to be here when Casey got the flowers- to see her face light up when she saw who they were from, to watch her smile and laugh... move on to someone else.

Casey realized that Olivia was trying to get out of seeing her initial reaction to the flowers and nodded. "Yeah, sure. Black, no-"

"-Cream or sugar. I know... I haven't forgot."

Olivia got up and left. She wasn't there when the assailant came into Casey's office and beat her until, as she slipped into unconsciousness, she called out for Olivia. Olivia remained oblivious, thinking Casey was safe and going into the arms of another.

* * *

><p>Alex walked quickly down to the DA's office, thinking over what the detective standing in for Munch while he was sick had said- Olivia was at the DA's office with ADA Novak.<p>

He hadn't said they were on a date. They could just be working on a case- that's what she had to tell herself until she was proven otherwise.

When she saw the ambulance waiting outside the DA's office, she picked up her pace worriedly. Olivia wasn't hurt. It was just a coincidence.

Alex continued control her nerves, though, and she started to run. An officer standing by the ambulance stopped her, not allowing her to move through to see who was hurt. "What's going on?" she gasped. "Please, you have to tell me!"

"Who are you?"

"I'm an ADA- who was hurt?" Alex started struggling again to get past him as the whoever the victim was was loaded onto the ambulance and it pulled away. "Please, was Detective Benson- is she in the ambulance?" When the officer nodded, Alex nearly fainted. This couldn't be happening. She had just gotten back to New York, to her real life, her real identity, to find out that Olivia was hurt. What was wrong with her? It couldn't be anything bad. She had to be all right; she had to be.

* * *

><p>Alex ran through the hospital, desperately searching for Olivia. She had gone straight to the ER and asked where Olivia was. The doctor, in return, and said she was with Casey Novak and given her the room number. Casey Novak... it was her fault. Something she had done had hurt Olivia. It was Casey's fault, and Alex was going to kill her. She was going to make her hurt, however she had hurt Olivia. That redheaded bitch wasn't going to get away with hurting her Olivia.<p>

Alex finally reached the hospital room and threw open the door, prepared to scream at Novak for being so careless so as to let Olivia get hurt- and if that bitch was actually the one who had hurt her detective, God himself couldn't save her.

The furious words died in her throat when she saw that it was _Casey_ in the hospital bed. _Casey_ was the one covered in bruises and unconscious- though Alex still focused on Olivia only, who was sitting next to Casey. Alex examined her carefully, searching for any sign of injury, but she seemed fine. The detective heard the door open and shifted in her chair to look at her, freezing when she saw who it was. "Al... Alex?" she stammered in shock. "What are you... I don't understand." That was the only response she could come up with to seeing Alex standing right in front of her. It was true- she didn't understand how Alex was back.

"Olivia?" Alex murmured as she stepped further into the room. "What happened? I thought you were the one hurt!"

Olivia shook her head slowly and stood up, facing the blonde. "No... no, I'm fine. Alex, how are you even here? I thought that you..."

"No, Cesear Velez is dead. The feds told me last night; I got the soonest flight back to New York. I was on my way to the DA's office when I saw the ambulance, and one of the cops said you were on it and I thought..."

Sighing, the detective rested a protective hand on the still unconscious Casey's shoulder and said quietly, "No, I'm fine. It was Casey; I just rode in the ambulance with her... Alex, she's going to wake up soon, and I don't think you should be here when she does. Not that I'm not glad to see you, I am, but you have no idea how much your appearance hurt her last time... even though that was partly my fault, I don't want her to see you and get worried about you returning to claim your job or me back. She doesn't need that now."

"You mean... you two are still together? Even after-"

"No, Alex, we're not. Thanks to your email, she doesn't believe I was going to tell her what happened between us. And then she took something I said the wrong way and thinks I love you, even though I _don't_. But that doesn't mean I don't care about her." Olivia's voice was firm and steady, but Alex had known her long enough to know it was all an act. She was trying to act like everything was okay, but it wasn't.

"Olivia, I'm sorry. I just... I wanted you to see that I loved you. I couldn't handle the thought of you with _her_... I thought that-"

"Alex, if you actually love me like you claim, then you wouldn't of tried to ruin my relationship with her. You would of been happy for me! I'm not asking that you be all thrilled that I'm with someone else, but you shouldn't of tried to rip us apart. Yeah, part of what happened was my fault, but if you actually loved me, you would of just left me and Casey alone!"

"Liv, I'm sorry! But I wasn't thinking about... I just wanted us to be..."

"Regardless of what you wanted, Alex, there's no chance of either you and me or me and Casey every working, and I can't even deal with this right now... I think you should go." Olivia turned back to look at Casey, but Alex wasn't just going to give up. She had waited so long for this moment; it couldn't just be ruined.

"Olivia, I-"

"Alex!" The detective whirled to face her, her hand still on the ADA's shoulder. "Right now, Casey is my first priority! After she's better, then maybe we could talk things out, but I don't love you, and I can't even think about this when I have to worry about Casey!"

Alex hung her head and bit her lip, struggling not to cry. She was about to try and convince Olivia again when Casey started mumbling in her sleep- mumbling her name. "Alex," she whispered, rolling away from Olivia's grip. "Alex... not dead... why didn't you tell me?"

"Case," Olivia murmured in her ear, trying to wake her up. "Case, Alex isn't here. She's not here and she's not coming back."

"Don't touch her... stop touching Liv," Casey mumbled, still asleep. "I love her..."

Olivia closed her eyes for a moment, trying to reign in her anger. Finally, she managed to turn around and say quietly, "Alex, please leave."

Casey groaned, struggling against sleep. God, her head hurt. She shouldn't be trying to wake up, she should be trying to fall back asleep, to escape from this headache. But there were voices. People who weren't letting her fall asleep. Who the hell was in her apartment, and why were they talking so loudly? _Go away._

But they won't go away. They're still talking. One voice, she recognizes- Olivia. But who's the other woman? "Olivia, please listen to me. Can you at least forgive me for-"

"No, Alex!" _Alex? What the hell is she doing in my apartment? And Olivia, for that matter- we're not dating anymore, I don't want either one here. Isn't Alex still in WP? God, my head hurts..._

"Alex, I slept with you before you left for WP again because I felt sorry for you. We both knew that's why I was doing it. I was going to tell Casey the next day- I didn't want to keep it a secret or get away with doing something horrible, but you told her before I could! She's convinced that I love you when I don't. And now I'm never going to get a second chance with her, and that's my fault for betraying her by sleeping with you. But you being here is only going to upset her when she wakes up... you heard her, Alex. She said she loved me. I'm sorry that you had to go into WP, but Casey and I could of had something really wonderful- maybe, just maybe she would of forgiven me for cheating on her if I had told her before you had. But you had to send her that video. The fact that you even recorded it in the first place means that you had planned it from the start. I... Alex, I still love her. I still want to be with her, and I'm not going to stop trying to make her understand that it was a mistake with you and that I don't love you. If you can't accept that, then we can't be friends. And either way, I don't want you to be here when she wakes up. She's gonna have enough to deal with."

_What the hell is going on? I have to be dreaming. Olivia would never say all of this to Alex. They love each other. And what's wrong with me? What do I have to 'deal with?' _

When Casey finally managed to open her eyes, she saw that she wasn't dreaming. Through her hazy vision, she saw Alex standing by the door of some unfamiliar room, and Olivia sitting next to her. "Liv?" she mumbled, her voice coming out hoarse and garbled. "Alex? What's going on?"

"Casey!" Olivia exclaimed, turning to face her. "You're awake..."

"Alex. What are you... why is she..." Casey started to sit up, then hissed in pain and leaned back. God, her chest hurt so much. What the hell was going on?

"Case, look at me, not her. Alex's is out of WP, but that doesn't change anything. I promise, her being back doesn't make any difference at all."

Casey was about to ask why the hell Alex was even here when she looked around and realized she had a more important question. "Olivia, what's going on? Where am I?"

Alex stumbled from the room as Olivia started to explain to Casey what had happened. How was this fair? It was like a fairy-tale, and Casey was the princess- the damsel in distress, she gets prince charming- all the luck in the world.

And it wasn't just that she got Olivia's love and loyalty. No, it went far beyond that. After this incident, whatever the hell had happened, Casey would skip off along the yellow brick road and stay in New York, with all her friends and her family- she'd still have her damn life.

But what the hell had Alex had? What the hell had she had last year after waking up in the hospital? Nothing. Not even a friend to hold her hand as that cold agent told her that Alex Cabot was, for all intents and purposes, dead. She had been completely alone- but Casey Novak wasn't disappearing off into WP. She was staying in New York, keeping her job and her friends- her situation was such more simpler, so much easier, but _she_ had Olivia with her. Not just as her partner- yes, that hurt, but that wasn't the problem- Alex had been alone. Casey had a friend with her, though her situation was infinitely better.

It wasn't god damn fair. Casey just waltzed into the Special Victim's Unit and stole Alex's everything. Her job, her friends, her life. Hell, next Casey would probably marry Olivia and be elected DA.

Alex stormed back to the hospital room and was about to start screaming at the redhead when she saw Olivia curled up against her side, head nestled in the crook of her neck, holding the now sleeping ADA tightly. She watched as, even unconscious, Casey moved closer to Olivia and draped her arm over her side, murmuring the detective's name.

If she put her personal feelings aside, they looked like the picture of perfection. Even with her feelings for Olivia, though, she couldn't find it in herself to pull them apart.

Alex had heard Casey say that she loved Olivia in her sleep. Both she and Olivia had heard it. And Olivia had said that she still loved her still. Yes, Alex still loved Olivia and wanted to be with her, but if Olivia didn't want that as well, what hope was there for them?

* * *

><p>Alex leaned back against the wall, sipping her coffee, waiting for Olivia to leave. When Elliot walked up and slipped inside the hospital room, Alex sighed. All her friends from a year and a half ago had moved on without her. Now, instead of being part of their group, she was now the third wheel.<p>

No, not even that. The third wheel would mean that she would still be hanging out with them- getting drinks after a hard case or meeting up on their days off... she was supposed to be getting her job as ADA back, but SVU had Casey now. They didn't need her. She'd probably get shuffled off into some unimportant role like Narcotics where she'd be going after petty drug dealers, different detectives each case, little to no opportunity for advancement.

And Casey would be in SVU. Making the streets of New York safer. Giving the victims justice, and even peace of mind. She'd be doing important work with the same squad, and they'd grow closer and Alex would be completely pushed out of the picture.

When Elliot and Olivia left the hospital room, Alex watched them walk around the corner before the male detective started explaining something, Alex saw her chance and took it. She hurried forward and headed inside, leaving the door open behind her. She wasn't planning on staying long.

Casey stared at her in shock, blinking several times as if she couldn't trust her own eyes. "Al... Alex? What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you about Olivia. I-"

"I don't care," Casey frowned, shaking her head and looking away. "I don't care, Alex. I have more important things on my mind than you and your jealously."

"That's not what I was going to say, Novak." Sighing, Alex crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall. "I know you and Olivia are back together now. I don't like it but I've accepted it. But if you _ever_ hurt her in _any_ way, there will be hell to pay. If you hit her, if you make her cry, if you break her heart, I'll-"

"Alex, what are you talking about?" Casey demanded, interrupting what was surely the beginning of a furious, icy rant threatening death if she so much as accidentally gave Olivia a paper cut. "Olivia and I aren't together. We've been apart ever since you slept with her."

Alex didn't miss the accusation and anger in her voice and, though she knew she deserved it, she still didn't like Casey and really would of liked to snap right back. Taking a deep breath and controlling herself, Alex said, "Novak, I want her to be happy, even... even if it's not with me. I thought she would of talked about it to you by now- after all, it's been over a day since she heard you say that you loved her." When Casey's eyes widened in shock, Alex shrugged and said, "You were talking in your sleep. Liv and I both heard. But I'm not here to discuss that. I'm just going to tell you that if you hurt her in anyway, I will-"

"Alex? What are you doing here?"

Casey and Alex both looked back at Olivia, who had just reentered the hospital room. Shaking her head, the former ADA headed for the door and murmured, "I was just leaving."

Once she was gone, Casey snapped, "Liv, what did you tell her? Why does she think that we're back together? Why her, of all people?"

"She- she what? She thinks we're back together? I... but... what did she even say?" Olivia stammered, staring at Casey in confusion as she shook her head angrily.

"She said that yesterday, I said that I loved you, then went on to threaten me and said that if I ever hurt you, she'd kill me."

"Alex said that?" Olivia gasped. "_Alex!_"

She had just turned to leave and go get Alex when Casey stopped her. "Olivia, I didn't tell you that so you could play my protective guard dog. I don't you need you to be my knight in shining armor; I want to talk to you about this." Casey hesitated, remembering back to the things she had heard when she was first waking up yesterday. Olivia saying to Alex that she didn't love her. Olivia saying that yes, she had actually been going to tell Casey about sleeping with Alex before Casey confronting her. All the things she'd been holding against Olivia for so long ended up not being true... except one.

Olivia had still slept with Alex. That was true.

But Olivia had said that she slept with Alex out of pity. Not out of love or even attraction for her; just pity. And Olivia had apologized for it every day since- after all, Casey hadn't even given her a second chance.

...Truthfully, Casey had missed her, these past few months.

Finally, she looked up at Olivia and said quietly, "You're on probation."

Olivia frowned in confusion, not sure what Casey was saying. "Probation?"

"Yes. If you still want us to get back together, then we can, but you'll be on probation."

Her eyes widened in shock when she realized what Casey was saying. "Oh my god, Case!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her tightly around her. "Thank you so much! I promise, I'll won't mess it up again."

"You better not, because you're not getting another chance."

Olivia smiled and looked at her before leaning forward and kissing her.


End file.
